NISHARLAN SEWGOLUM
THIS week is a special one on the calendar, as we celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday: Our golfing journey for the week looks at some key tips for women golfers to enjoy the game just as much as men do.
Golf in recent years has seen a rise in women golfers as well as more golfing tours with some great prize money on offer.
The most important factor for the woman golfer is to make sure the equipment she is using is not too heavy even if it’s just used as a beginner. Using heavy equipment will cause injury and also be demotivating when she is taking to the game.
A woman’s body composition is different to that of a man and the golf shots are more about feel with creating power. If you are using your partner’s clubs for just getting the feel of things on the range, stick to the lower irons, that is the pitching wedge to eight iron clubs.
The swing set-up needs to be a solid base with the feet, shoulder width apart and knees nicely bent to create the turf strike. I find many women golfers are afraid to hit the ball and turf. To avoid this, pick your spot at the ball and accelerate through this at impact with firm wrists.
During the swing we want a wide arc to create the power we will gain. On the downswing, feel as if your left foot is tramping into the ground. This is a great tool to keep your stable balance through the shot.
A key factor is what I call staring down the target line. Many women golfers don’t complete a swing and stab at the ball instead of hitting it and following through the swing. The point of this, “staring down the target line” is to get all your weight shifted across to help launch and distance.
Women golfers have softer hands by nature, if this is combined with the power we can gain in the swing, it would be for accuracy and distance gained.
My best drill for all women golfers is a simple one: flip the golf club over and make swings hearing that “swish” sound at impact. Keep your hands in front of your chest and make the most powerful free-flow swing you can. This is a great drill to help you gain power in your golf swing. Catch you on the fairways!
– Sewgolum is a PGA AA golf professional, Golf Pro for Saudi Aramco and was voted Top 5 International PGA Pro for the year 2022.